Does anyone here still have cable?

Cable was robbing my mother blind. Holy shit. She was paying a bit over 200.00 PER MONTH for cable/internet.

I intervened and now she is streaming via Directvnow---getting the SAME channels all for 90 dollars.

I showed her how to use Pluto bc that app is the best.

Anyway...cable sucks. They were so robbing my mother. WTF.

by Anonymous

reply 118

10/13/2018

Directv will do the same, they start at that price and in a few months it will go up.

by Anonymous

reply 1

10/12/2018

Cable companies do that. And as the rates continue to rise, and the programming gets worse, more and more people are waking up to the reality that $200 per month is a lot of money. Cable companies are making a money grab right now before people completely wake up and realize they are being robbed or the government puts price controls in place.

by Anonymous

reply 2

10/12/2018

I have still have cable. With the bundle of cable, internet and phone I pay a little over $200/month and that is with another specials they are running. If I didn't have the specials I would be paying close to $300/month.

by Anonymous

reply 3

10/12/2018

This is Datalounge, OP

Many of your fellow eldergays have dial-up telephones (and the requisite pencils) and flip phones.

If they don't have cable, it' likely because they are still using a roof antenna.

They're now offering to hook up HD antennas and charge $10.00/month for antenna tv which will probably total $30.00/month when they add in all of the hidden taxes. They're desperate.

by Anonymous

reply 6

10/12/2018

r4 is a flaming cunt who pretends to be a millennial.

I have cable: $120 a month for hundreds of channels, Internet, and a landline I don't have. Same price it's been for over two years.

by Anonymous

reply 7

10/12/2018

I have cable for TV and internet and phone. It is my primary source of entertainment and it’s reliable and convenient. I love live news and sports and channel surfing and I can afford it. When I go to friends homes, I see all the gyrations they go through in order to get much more limited content. Not for me.

by Anonymous

reply 8

10/12/2018

R4 What company and where do you live?

by Anonymous

reply 9

10/12/2018

Gen X R7

But DLers in their 50s and 60s are far more technophobic than their peers.

Or the technophobes post more.

by Anonymous

reply 10

10/12/2018

R5, the customer service agents who work the phones at DirectTV and Comcast have to follow the same putrid script designed to try to get you to buy more services. It doesn't matter if you're calling because you're having technical problems or to complain about your bill, the agent's job is to try to sell you more, that's why it's such a nightmare to deal with these companies.

by Anonymous

reply 11

10/12/2018

I stand corrected, r10. You're a faming GenX cunt.

People in their 50s and 60s are often just as tech-knowledgable as schmucks like you.

by Anonymous

reply 12

10/12/2018

R1, it is not direct tv. It is a streaming app--"directv now" which basically offers same for a LOT less money. No cable or satellite needed.

I took the cable boxes back (she had 4--each 10 dollars a month).

by Anonymous

reply 13

10/12/2018

R3, you should invest in a firestick, or roku or apple tv and just get an app to stream tv. Hell, even youtube offers live tv for 40 bucks a month.

You can get rid of that cable box.

by Anonymous

reply 14

10/12/2018

What sales rep? I conduct all my business with Comcast online. Love voice commands too.

by Anonymous

reply 15

10/12/2018

I have cable. A few years ago my husband dropped the premium channels. For some reason, we get all the premium channels for free on 2 TVs while the other TVs don’t have it. Only problem is we can’t use OnDemand, so we have to watch in real time.

by Anonymous

reply 16

10/12/2018

Directvnow is an APP.

Not the satellite.

It rocks.

by Anonymous

reply 17

10/12/2018

I pay a total of $150 for my cable, my Internet, and my monthly cell phone service.

by Anonymous

reply 18

10/12/2018

FiOS TV, Internet, Phone for $153/mnth.

by Anonymous

reply 19

10/12/2018

R18 that is a really good price. If my mother were paying that I would have left it.

by Anonymous

reply 20

10/12/2018

R15, when you have problems with Comcast's internet speed or the X1 box that can't be fixed by unplugging the boxes you have to call them and that's when you get stuck with an agent asking you the same questions you answered when you first called to get the service.

by Anonymous

reply 21

10/12/2018

First world problems, r21.

by Anonymous

reply 22

10/12/2018

My mom is a luddite and not English fluent. She's also retired and TV is her main form of entertainment. I pay her cable tv bill. Because she's a luddite, there's no need for internet. But it also means she's tied to cable tv and cannot take advantage of all the other options out there. I was paying $130 for basic cable along with a foreign language package. Total ripoff. Most galling is knowing that she hardly watches any other channels aside from the foreign language package ones. But Spectrum won't allow you to buy the most basic cable option if you want the extra language packages.

She moved recently and fortunately some of the foreign language channels are included in the basic cable package at her new address. So I just pay $61 for the basic cable package. Of course, that's the intro offer and after a year, it will go up to about $90.

It's all a ripoff to me as I have only paid for internet for the last 15 years or so. It's a bit of a consolation that all the cable companies now offer online/app streaming along with your cable package so I log in on my Roku tv--mainly for sports. Just occasionally, I still watch antenna tv for the most part. But it does feel better to utilize that cable bill for my mom and a bit for me (we live on opposite coasts).

by Anonymous

reply 23

10/12/2018

I cut the cable cord 4 years ago when I moved across the country. I pay more for my internet service through AT&T - $70 - than I do for streaming sites. I have Netflix, Hulu, and pay the extra $15 for HBONow, which I connect to my tv via my phone app and Chrome. It's more than enough tv. I'll never go back to cable again and could give two shits about live tv. Network offerings have been mostly dire outside of AMC and FX for years.

by Anonymous

reply 24

10/12/2018

I canceled my Sling TV service 2 days ago. It's a complete waste of time and money. How much tv could a person watch? After an hour all tv feels the same and a person enters the twilight zone.

by Anonymous

reply 25

10/12/2018

I watch HGTV, Showtime, HBO, History channels, PBS, BBC, MLB, CNN, MSNBC, Sundance, TCM, and maybe ten other channels, plus the major network channels. I enjoy the convenience of On Demand, recording stuff, surfing other stuff, and all I pay is $120 a month for it. Plus the Internet. To me, that's worth it.

by Anonymous

reply 26

10/12/2018

That was my point R12

In the real world they are quite tech savvy (that's what "than their peers" means)

Just not the ones on DL.

But I bet you get hard typing "cunt" -- it makes you feel British.

by Anonymous

reply 27

10/12/2018

I just have internet, which comes to $65 per month (that's with taxes included). I just bought my own modem/router instead of "renting" one of theirs indefinitely, so no monthly fee for that or a DVR box.

As for cable TV, or even streaming services like Sling or DirectTVNow, it's so easy to find other people's username/passwords on various cracking forums - I'm not going to bother to pay for watching TV anymore. I only watch a small number of shows anyhow - mainly just the late night shows, ID, and HLN, oh and AMC for the Walking Dead. 95% of the other programming, I have no interest in anyhow. I can care less about sports, phony reality shows, phony home makeover shows, awful food network shows...

Even if you don't know where to find other people's logins, there are still thousands of sites out there that share all the major shows the day after they aired - and they're commercial free. You just need to have a good ad blocker/popup blocker, because the sites themselves are often buried with ads.

by Anonymous

reply 28

10/12/2018

r27 thinks for some reason DLers hate technology because they're too old to appreciate it.

r27 keeps proving what a cunt she is.

And no, I'm not British, cunt.

by Anonymous

reply 29

10/12/2018

I pay 200 bucks a month, we have two phones, 2 TVs, 2 Computers. I agree all the movie channels suck, I watch a LOT of sports, and have not a CLUE how to hook up all these other options to my TV or Phone etc. If that costs me an extra 1'00 bucks a month, I'll live. A plus is I can have a face to face conversation and use more than 128 characters in doing so.

by Anonymous

reply 30

10/12/2018

I actually need cable TV and DVR for my job (TV reporting; it's fun, yes, I've gotten to meet idols, yes, all great though the pay isn't); BUT if and when I can I'm cutting the cord.

I'll go cell and Internet access only; I'll get just TV reception with that antenna box or whatever it is.

by Anonymous

reply 31

10/12/2018

One day paying for cable and Internet and cell phone service will be a thing of the past.

by Anonymous

reply 32

10/12/2018

The key is to change your cable subscriber or even cell phone subscriber every 24-36 months.

You make yourself negotiable this way. Brand loyalty is what they expect when they give you the annual bill hikes.

by Anonymous

reply 33

10/12/2018

[QUOTE]One day paying for cable and Internet and cell phone service will be a thing of the past.

Yep, in about 12 years, when climate change kills us all.

by Anonymous

reply 34

10/12/2018

Well, we won't be paying for anything then, will we, r34? First world problems solved! (Third world, too.)

by Anonymous

reply 35

10/12/2018

I get all my entertainment for free...but it's all in black & white.

I do wish I could dream in color one day.

by Anonymous

reply 36

10/12/2018

I got rid of cable in the late 90's when I was paying over $100 a month.

by Anonymous

reply 37

10/12/2018

If you were paying that much in the 90s, r37, you were really dumb.

by Anonymous

reply 38

10/12/2018

[quote]Well, we won't be paying for anything then, will we, [R34]?

Oh yes we will r35 we will be paying for not acknowledging the threat of climate change a long time ago.

by Anonymous

reply 39

10/12/2018

I’d love to switch, but my cable is bundled with my internet...Xfinity you know.

What can I do?

by Anonymous

reply 40

10/12/2018

You're really a humorless dud, r39.

by Anonymous

reply 41

10/12/2018

R8 captures my sentiments exactly. I like live tv, even if it's on in the background while I surf the web .

by Anonymous

reply 42

10/12/2018

No r38 I had the same cable as everyone else. Maybe i have the time wrong. It's been a long while since I've had cable. You had to pay separately for HBO and Showtime. Basic was one price and HBO/Showtime were added on as well as other channels not included in basic. In some areas you had no choice in cable company and there was no satellite, no competition, so they could up the pricing to whatever they wanted.

by Anonymous

reply 43

10/12/2018

I cut the cord, but that may be too complicated for an elderly person to manage.

by Anonymous

reply 44

10/12/2018

I have to have xfinity as my area is semi rural and there are no other options. They are soaking me for over $200 a month,but what other choice do i have ?

by Anonymous

reply 45

10/12/2018

We have Internet for $30 a month through a local provider. No more fucking Xfinity, who used to charge us $65 a month for Internet and was about to raise it $5/mo.

We have Playstation Vue for $40 a month, which gives us some extras, and we pay for HBO, which is another $15, and Netflix, which is another $10. We also pay for Amazon Prime, but that pays for itself in shipping and the access to Prime TV is a bonus.

So we went from $200+ to just under $100 by cutting the cord. It is awesome.

by Anonymous

reply 46

10/12/2018

[quote] The key is to change your cable subscriber

Don't most towns have just one cable tv option? It might be different in New York or LA, but I've never had another option for my cable provider.

by Anonymous

reply 47

10/12/2018

r46=poor.

by Anonymous

reply 48

10/12/2018

Im guessing that with the advent of 5G, cable and internet companies that provide service through wires will become extinct.

Am I right?

by Anonymous

reply 49

10/12/2018

$30 for internet is a steal. I pay 50 but only after calling and complaining. Or else it would be 75. Which it will be in a few months. Will just call in and complain again. If they call my bluff, my neighbor already offered to split his internet cost with me via wifi. This is Xfinity. The only other option is DSL with Verizon and it's slightly cheaper but speed maxes out at 3mb. For whatever reason, they won't install FIOS in my slightly older apartment building.

by Anonymous

reply 50

10/12/2018

If I get a bundle of phone and internet from AT&T and then I stream Sling, Netflix and Amazon, I do pretty well. I pay around 140 a month. I got an indoor atenna and a fires tick. Smart TV.

by Anonymous

reply 51

10/12/2018

I gave it my all, but this has officially become a tedious thread. Good luck, girls, in the nickel and dime department.

by Anonymous

reply 52

10/12/2018

I am one year into a two year contract with Comcast, whom I hate (I worked for them for three years back in the mid naughts.)

I pay $105 a month for cable TV and Internet. I have a Tivo and my own modem, so the only Comcast equipment I have is a cablecard.

My current employer reimburses my Internet & cellular costs and when my Comcast contract ends, I'll hopefully have a 5G fixed wireless alternative to Comcast and can toss them to the curb or will at least get rid of cable tv and replace it with an IPTV provider for $120 a year and thousands of basic cable and premium cable channels from the US, UK, AUS and a dozen other countries.

I've tried all the major OTT live tv streaming services, Sling, PSVUE, YouTubeTV and Hulu Live. Among them Sling is the best provider, but still three times the cost of a gray market IPTV provider with many fewer channels.

I've also tried Pluto TV and it's nifty but it's also a bit "rinky-dink" and lacks real time MSNBC programming, so it didn't fully work for me.

by Anonymous

reply 53

10/12/2018

Pluto is AWESOME. They have great movies, and great old tv shows to stream. Love it.

by Anonymous

reply 54

10/12/2018

Eldergay here and I pay my cable company only for my Internet. No phone or cable channels. I use streaming services and other means to get the content I'm interested in.

by Anonymous

reply 55

10/12/2018

R47: Nobody does. They're natural monopolies. Unless you want 5 cable jacks coming into your house. I've long proposed we should nationalize all the cable company infrastructure, and then just let Spectrum, Comcast, Cox, Mediacom, use those PUBLIC pipelines to offer services. I shouldn't have to live in GA to get Cox, or IL (where I am) if I want Comcast. That would bring real competition, the ability to switch companies. So naturally, we won't do it and scream communist at anyone who proposes such a sensible solution.

by Anonymous

reply 56

10/12/2018

I do for a few channels. I also have a cromecaster so that makes things a lot easier. I can mirror nearly anything.

by Anonymous

reply 57

10/12/2018

Fuck TV. Unlimited data on my smartphone & hot spot for my tenant.

Thanks for this thread OP.

There's a great money saving thread here somewhere from the summer. Damned thread was brilliant. $350+ a month saved.

Bless them. I'll try to find it outside the search function

by Anonymous

reply 58

10/12/2018

I'm with you, R8. Phone, cable, internet costs me $132.86 per month.

by Anonymous

reply 59

10/12/2018

You've totally confused me with someone who might give a shit

by Anonymous

reply 60

10/12/2018

I don't watch sports, cable TV news channels depresss me and I don't care for channels full of home buying and cooking shows. Absolutely no reason to subscribe to cable. I have over the air if I want to watch something live and get something like 80 broadcast channels. Netflix, Hulu and Prime. Oh, and I found a way to access BBC IPlayer. I'm pretty well set.

by Anonymous

reply 61

10/12/2018

Before cable, watching commercials was the price you paid for watching TV and there weren't that many commercials either. Now you not only pay for TV but have to watch more commercials.

by Anonymous

reply 62

10/12/2018

My sister is one of those 200 dollar a month fools and complains about it non stop.....I find myself alternating between Hulu and Netflix....I did the HBO add on (only because I wanted to binge watch the last couple of HIDEOUS seasons of Girls). The truth is Bill Maher is on Youtube within a day of airing on Fridays.....

by Anonymous

reply 63

10/12/2018

I cut the cord 2 months ago. Got DirecTV Now first, but after 1 month decided there was still way too much programming I was paying for with it that I had no interest in. Then I switched to SlingTV. $25.00/mo and I bought a HD outdoor antenna for the local and PBS channels. Best thing I've done in a long time. I was paying $135.00/mo just for cable. Now I'm paying $25.00/mo.

by Anonymous

reply 64

10/12/2018

A young colleague of mine mentioned that she doesn't know anyone with cable. I haven't had it myself in years, and I can't imagine why anyone would pay for it. What programming could possibly be so entrancing as to be worth $200 a month?

by Anonymous

reply 65

10/12/2018

[quote] A young colleague of mine mentioned that she doesn't know anyone with cable.

Most people <35 have cut the cord. If you are paying $200 or more a month, you're paying for your own lack of technical knowledge.

by Anonymous

reply 66

10/12/2018

I just got cable for the first time in more than twenty years! Was paying $90CDN/month for just internet and discovered faster internet and cable package for $80 for two years. Have not yet watched it though it's been here for more than a month. Pay $25/year for cell phone which gives me something like 100 minutes which is OK as I'm not talkative. Use various VOIPs when making calls.

by Anonymous

reply 67

10/12/2018

The cable industry will be dead within the next 10 years. Can't wait to go to that funeral.

by Anonymous

reply 68

10/12/2018

I am embarrassed to post this, but anonymity so... I pay 308.00 a month. It covers my internet, 2 TV boxes and my landline. Of course it's Comcast. I have pretty much all the channels and I know I should get rid of them, since other than HBO and SHO, I rarely watch the other ones. I just don't even know if that would save me much money or why I pay so much to begin with.

by Anonymous

reply 69

10/12/2018

I had cable. It was worth it until Verizon killed its FIOS app for XBox then kept screwing around with its Triple Play package. Every renewal, the rates would go up and half a dozen channels slashed and then offered a la carte. By the time I had to renew the third time, I was looking at $140/month and all of my favorite network except SyFy a la carte. So I cut the cord.

by Anonymous

reply 70

10/12/2018

I use kodi for everything and torrent what I can't get that way.

by Anonymous

reply 71

10/12/2018

[quote]The cable industry will be dead within the next 10 years. Can't wait to go to that funeral.

No, you don't. The cable industry sucks, but it's the devil you know. The streaming industry is shaping up to be much worse because it's now reaching a point where you're going to have to sign up at multiple different sites just to watch the latest up and coming shows. Popular IPs that used to be widely available are now increasingly out of reach of the general public because they're becoming platform-exclusive.

by Anonymous

reply 72

10/12/2018

We had a friend on Cape Cod who is disabled due to mental health problems. She is really isolated and only had a radio for entertainment. My spouse bought her a TV and digital antenna but unfortunately that didn't work.

So we picked up a contract with Xfinity where they guarantee the cost for basic is static at $50 per month. It's been a year and she is happy, but wishes she had ESPN. My spouse would love ESPN too, but we use air TV and she doesn't want to pay for cable.

by Anonymous

reply 73

10/12/2018

*have a friend

R72, is that because of Net Neutrality?

by Anonymous

reply 74

10/12/2018

Wow the US it a total rip off for Internet and TV.

Here in the UK I get 80/20mb fibre + telephone for £20 ($26) a month.

Have a Netflix account shared with family £2 ($2.60) a month.

Have NOW TV - always on offer, currently £3 ($4) a month (including Catchup services)

So for £30 ($40) I get a faster service and more TV channels than I could ever watch.

I also only pay £5 ($7) a month for my Cellphone contract (SIM only) which give me 500 minutes, unlimited texts, 2GB data. Though I hardly ever use it

I'd never pay the US rip off prices

by Anonymous

reply 75

10/12/2018

I got your mother to show pussy and post her social security number on Chaturbate. She loved it and said she's tired of her queeny old son.

by Anonymous

reply 76

10/12/2018

I'm watching less & less. I could cut the cord, but then I realized how much extra shit there would be. FX+, HBOGo, Hulu, Amazon, Netflix, CNN streaming (wherever that is), and all the other random outlets. Why not just leave cable & the DVR in place instead of so many different places to have to go to see what I want?

Anyway, now I only pay $70/mo for 300 gbps internet + every premium channel cuz my condo is a "community" so we get a discount. My cell phone bill is much higher cuz I got the iPhone 8 and now they spread it over 2 years rather than giving you a discount up front for a 2-year contract.

With Comcast, like many above, I did pay $200/mo previously. And in that building, they're installing new fiber because apparently they're getting feedback that nobody is using Comcast anymore & their internet is too expensive - so now people have an option to do internet only. That building is very heavy on the 20-35 age group.

by Anonymous

reply 77

10/12/2018

Excellent that so many of you eldergays are afraid of change! Thank you for lining our pockets!

by Anonymous

reply 78

10/12/2018

R69 - you have cable - and a landline? Good heavens. You don't have a fax machine by any chance? Or a typewriter?

by Anonymous

reply 79

10/12/2018

I'm not reading this entire thread. My answer: yes I have cable

When they signed me up for the "triple play" (Optimum), they gave me a discount deal and said when that's up "we'll put you into another promotion." Most people forget and accept the increased fees when the promo's over.

GET ON THE PHONE AND DEMAND THAT THEY PUT YOU INTO ANOTHER PROMOTION LIKE THEY ORIGINALLY SAID.

I don't pay more than I paid four years ago because I call sales every year on the anniversary, they send me to retention dept, I renew the deal. Don't be such an entitled snot, R79, there are reasons for things that your bony ass knows nothing about.

by Anonymous

reply 80

10/12/2018

Of course I have a landline, how else would I be able to use my beloved pearl-white slim line telephone with automatic redial?

by Anonymous

reply 81

10/12/2018

R77 it's not that complex. I just have Netflix and Amazon, and between them there's more content than I could hope to watch in years.

by Anonymous

reply 82

10/12/2018

I've seen cable TV on occasion in hotels, and it's awful. Too hard to navigate, too many channels, too many commercials, too much stupid content, and no pause, rewind, subtitles or fast forward. I wouldn't pay $5 a month for that, much less $200.

by Anonymous

reply 83

10/12/2018

I just took a big 💩

by Anonymous

reply 84

10/12/2018

I cancelled my cable service in mid-2017 after nearly 30 years of paying cable bills in all the places I've lived.

I was paying more and more and enjoying it less and less for more and more channels forced on me by their "package" pricing strategy.

So now I get 31 channels for free over the air, many of which are shit, but so were 97% of the cable channels I was paying for.

I use the money saved as my "too tired to cook, I'm going to a restaurant" fund.

I'm not missing a thing I care about.

by Anonymous

reply 85

10/12/2018

We pay $52 a month to AT&T for internet. We use smart TVs, indoor antenna, and Sling TV. Sling is $45 per month. It's enough. Previously paid AT&T Uverse over $200 per month for internet and cable. We also use an Ooma for auxiliary phone at ~$4 per month.

by Anonymous

reply 86

10/12/2018

I'm paying around $115.00 for a bundled package, that includes TV, High Speed Internet, and my phone (a landline). My mobile phone is a separate provider. High Speed Internet and a reliable landline are important to me, since I work from home, and spend a lot of time in meetings or on conference calls. TV is the least important, to me, but the best deals from my carrier are bundles, so selecting services a la carte ends up being more expensive. They bump up the charge about once a year, and I have to call to negotiate a new bundle.

by Anonymous

reply 87

10/12/2018

I don't think I've hated a company more than AT&T.

Like r80, when I initially signed up I was given a good deal and the price wasn't so outrageous. Unlike R80, I didn't follow up and see if I could get another good deal, because I am incredibly lazy about stuff like that. I could explain why I won't give up my landline, but it's boring so I won't bother.

by Anonymous

reply 88

10/12/2018

WHats IPTV?

by Anonymous

reply 89

10/12/2018

So if I get an indoor antenna, netflix and Amazon I can do everything I want? I love watching MSNBC and I get my general news from CNN. The internal antenna as I understand it, will enable me to get local news and access NBC, CBS and ABC. But I won't see then other stuff.

by Anonymous

reply 90

10/12/2018

85% of American homes have cable so you're pretty retarded to even ask such a question.

by Anonymous

reply 91

10/12/2018

Indoor Antennae are usually shit, probably better to find an IPTV service that will suit your needs. You usually only need about 5mb download for a good service.

by Anonymous

reply 92

10/12/2018

R4 Where were you in the mid 1980s to mid 1990s when the internet/browsers as we know it today were being developed? Hmm? I'll bet not in the workforce which means you were a student. Somewhere between K-12 as I gather from your misinformed post. But whatever grade you were in, you were not in the workforce. You were a student.

That means you had nothing to do with the R&D of the internet. Or the browser technology, all of which, both on the software and hardware side, were being developed in the early 90s as were the early (pre-google) search engines, which were patchy and difficult to navigate until today's "elders" upgraded and enhanced the features in addition to everything else they accomplished. You weren't there, I am sure of that.

Remember when your high school teachers told you that the oldest in your generation invented the internet? They were wrong. Teachers and professors alike were strictly academia and didn't know what was *really* going on in Hi-Tech centers such as Silicon Valley, Research Triangle Park and the high-tech corridors of Austin and Boston. The internet was available to those in the defense industry (who started the technology) and the technology sector; working adults not students, before it was rolled out to the public in 1995. And even at that time most people were still not using the internet just because the browser was developed and it was available.

The majority of the people involved and immersed in the technology revolution, especially during the early to mid 90s were, at the time, in their 30s, 40s and 50s, which includes the VC's who funded these ventures and start-ups. If you do the math they are now between 60 and 75, they are not in your age group.

And as an aside, the reason many eldgergays still have a landline *in addition to their cell phone that they've had since the 90s* (again, before you entered adulthood) is because they know, from having had no other option than a landline, up until they were in their 30s and 40s, that (News Flash) the 911 System was designed for landline telephones, transmitting your call AND your location/address too, instantly, over a hard-wired connection. FYI, a cellphone doesn't do that.

You are not tech savvy. You are tech dependent. Two different things. And stop bashing the very people who played a role in the design and research and development of the very technology that allows you to bash them. Time to grow up and get over yourself.

by Anonymous

reply 93

10/12/2018

Quit Comcast, got the cheapest Fios package for basic Tv and internet. Use Kodi for everything else. I found I wasn’t watching network or cable tv anymore. (Or news!)

Comcast was asking $230. A month. Now pay $148.00. I must admit I do miss Comcast. Fios DVR and remotes suck.

by Anonymous

reply 94

10/12/2018

R47

In the vast majority of areas Cable companies are government chartered monopolies.

Despite the rapid change in technology, my neighbors across the backyard have Comcast, while I have Charter, and neither of us has the option to change providers. Another example of unintended consequences of government regulations- enriching the wealthy while screwing the poor.

5G is going to change that. No more cable, just an plethora of internet providers over the air.

by Anonymous

reply 95

10/12/2018

R82 - apparently my own post was too "complex" for you. The point was that I watch shows on FX, Bravo, and HBO that would not be available on "Netflix and Amazon" until many years after airing - if at all. Torrenting is a pain in the ass. Many shows aren't available, and if you have a DNS leak from your VPN, forget to use your VPN, or don't feel like using a slow connection while it's on, then you get copyright warning letters & after 6 you lose your cable and cannot sign up again.

by Anonymous

reply 96

10/12/2018

R48

Wealthy people often cut coupons, monitor every expense like a hawk, shop when it is on sale and put off gratuitous purchases until they are cheaper. The Nouveau Riche, AKA trust fund babies, don’t do this because they didn’t earn the money themselves.

That’s why they are often broke by the third generation.

The architects of the wealth need to keep the principle generating income, and tell any heirs that the principle assets will be disbursed to all surviving heirs on the 100th anniversary of their deaths. All dividends will be split equally during that century, with a lump sum at the end.

by Anonymous

reply 97

10/12/2018

No TV licence in the US, though. But cable is more expensive all around than in the UK.

by Anonymous

reply 98

10/12/2018

R49

I seriously wonder what the companies that own cable lines are planning to use them for in the near future.

5G will be the standard for 95% of the population of the country by 2023, with the only outliers being people that live hundreds of miles from civilization.

The incredible miniaturization of the boxes used to transmit 5G mean that they could easily mount them to existing telephone poles every few hundred meters in order to create a mesh. Since the poles will be line of sight, directed antennas will extend the millimeterwave range dramatically in rural areas.

by Anonymous

reply 99

10/12/2018

Off air TV and radio are completely blocked here by the mountains (Northern LA County) -- if you go only a couple of miles down the road into the valley Mount Wilson transmitters are loud and clear. After using the cable monopoly for years, we changed to DTV and were amazed at the quality, for one, and the ability to take the two boxes with us in the RV (self-aiming roof-mounted dish). DirecTV = $56.33, (6 displays, cat 7 wiring, IR repeaters allow independent operation of each), Spectrum internet = $41.95, Ooma hub = 0 (early adopter), Ooma Telo, taxes only, Firestick, KODI, Netflix = 0, and yes, we do have a fax machine for legal dox via Ooma lines . . . and dedicated UPS to keep all it up during power failures. My pride & joy is my IBM model "M" keyboard customized/reworked for my tower--there's no other keyboarding experience like it! Misc: Project Fi Nexus 6 (fast, lots of storage), Moto e/Mint, flip phone. My one vice is Berlin Phil Digital Concert Hall sub but the live performances/quality are gorgeous!

by Anonymous

reply 100

10/12/2018

Great post R93

by Anonymous

reply 101

10/12/2018

If you listen quietly, leaning to the wind, you can hear the furious flapping of R93's caftan as she wrote her manifesto.

by Anonymous

reply 102

10/12/2018

56 dollars for DT? No way. I still prefer DT but they fuck you over time as well. In various clever ways. Beware

by Anonymous

reply 103

10/12/2018

Yes, $56.00 for DirecTV; but I phone each year & negotiate hard. All of the providers are a racket . . .

by Anonymous

reply 104

10/12/2018

I use Hulu Live for $39.99 a month, which includes classic Hulu. The interface stinks, but it does the job. The cloud DVR is nice and being able to watch TV shows even if I hadn't recorded them is good.

by Anonymous

reply 105

10/12/2018

I pay $140 a month for cable, which covers my phone, TV and Internet/wifi. That may not be ideal but I don't think it's *that* bad plus, as others have stated, the convenience of having all of my channels, OnDemand, DVR, and so forth at my fingertips makes it worth it in my opinion.

[quote]If I get a bundle of phone and internet from AT&T and then I stream Sling, Netflix and Amazon, I do pretty well. I pay around 140 a month. I got an indoor atenna and a fires tick. Smart TV.

And this is what I don't understand frankly about the whole cable-vs-other platforms argument: if you're paying roughly $10 a month to almost 10 or more different content providers -- all of which combined come to $100 or more a month -- how is it that you're saving that much money vs having cable? Granted, I'm not talking about people who pay $200 or more a month for their cable but rather people like me who pay in the $100 to $140 range. Sure, you save some, but it's not like you're saving *that* much more, which is why the whole "you're crazy if you're still paying for cable" argument just rings kind of hollow to me.

by Anonymous

reply 106

10/12/2018

It's the same small group of bizarre insecure trolls with daddy abandonment issues that start these threads. Of COURSE people fucking have cable. Also, we can afford the $200 / mo. Sorry you can't OP and have to resort to illegal behaviors (torrenting) and watch subpar TV shows limited to Amazon and Netflix.

by Anonymous

reply 107

10/12/2018

That is a great post R93. Unfortunately, the kind of cunts who routinely start these threads have ADHD and can'tread that. If it's longer than a tweet, they can't really handle it.

by Anonymous

reply 108

10/12/2018

I sold my place and am moving. Got a call from the Cox guy and my moving deal is going to save me $4o/month. He told me when you move they give you deals to stay with them. He told me, which others have as well, when your promotions are coming to an end to renegotiate them. So I will stay with them until I find an alternative that I will be happy with.

by Anonymous

reply 109

10/12/2018

When AT&T bumped my monthly bundled rate up $75 because I was "coming off two promotions," I asked what they could do.

The best offer they gave me was my rate would only go up $10/mo. if they could switch me from U-Verse to their satellite division.

I said "thanks but no thanks" because I didn't want a tacky satellite dish on my house or in my yard.

So now I just buy internet from AT&T for $50/mo.

by Anonymous

reply 110

10/13/2018

[quote]Don't most towns have just one cable tv option? It might be different in New York or LA, but I've never had another option for my cable provider.

Some smaller towns usually do only have one cable provider option.

by Anonymous

reply 111

10/13/2018

It's weird, but understandable, how people like R107 who grew up with cable still think it is normal to pay for it ("Of COURSE people fucking have cable").

First of all, apart from anything else it's a waste of money. The first bit of advice from every frugal living blog is to ditch it. Second, even if you do have money to spare for cable, why would you want it in the first place? As per R83, "Too hard to navigate, too many channels, too many commercials, too much stupid content, and no pause, rewind, subtitles or fast forward".

Why pay good money for such a poor product? What is the value proposition?

by Anonymous

reply 112

10/13/2018

I don't have cable because like others have said, I don't watch most of the content cable offers. I have no interest in sports, home improvement shows, reality shows etc. The few shows I do watch, or any movie I want to watch, will just be on one of the several streaming sites. Any show you can think of is uploaded 10 minutes after it's broadcast on regular tv. I have a laptop for tv-watching only that is hooked up to my tv, and it's HD quality. Luckily, I have a free wi-fi so I don't need internet from the cable company either.

by Anonymous

reply 113

10/13/2018

Cable TV is obviously a ripoff, but apart from that one has to admit it is fascinating how people emotionally bond with the technology they grew up with.

Those eldergays on here that are always bitching about young people constantly staring at their phones should think about how much time they spend staring at their cable TV!

by Anonymous

reply 114

10/13/2018

R106 ditto. The righteous “cord-cutters” appear to be paying $10 to $40 for individual things they like and relying on crappy wireless internet connections - which wouldn’t work where I live as wireless service is not reliable. All of which seem to add up to $100 or more all in.

I pay $120 for solid high speed cable internet via Verizon. The idea of relying on an antenna or wireless service for internet is a fantasy if you need solid, reliable connection. Oh - and as a perk I happen to get a ton of TV channels that completely fulfills my TV needs without paying a penny more for Hulu, Sling, etc. And ifI want to stream, I have high quality uninterrupted internet on which to do it.

by Anonymous

reply 115

10/13/2018

I'm a cord cutter and I don't stream --> instant BIG monthly savings.

After a month's time I did not feel like I was missing anything.

I've found other things to entertain me in my leisure time. I am NOT REQUIRED to watch television, the "vast wasteland."

by Anonymous

reply 116

10/13/2018

My brother has both cable AND multiple streaming apps. To me this is just insane. How much TV can he possibly watch? There are only so many hours in a day. On the other hand, he is pretty wealthy so he can afford that kind of thing. What kills me are people who toss away money on luxuries like cable and then sit around and mope and whine about how broke they are and how they can't save for retirement. No sympathy from me, I can tell you that.

by Anonymous

reply 117

10/13/2018

I have a Comcast service technician coming on Tuesday to fix one of my cable outlets that's not working. They told me this would be a $60 charge. I wanted to tell the phone rep that the cable guy better be hot since I'm be charged $60 bucks.

Any tips to prepare for this service appointment? Besides being prelubed to get fucked over by Comcast and their excessive service charges?

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